Listen to the Podcast – Everything to Consider When Building Your Ideal Office
When designing your dental office, it’s important to work with the right realtor and lender to find the right building or space to house your ideal office. It’s important to ensure that the entire team understands dentistry and the unique elements of a dental practice, from the equipment team to financial and legal experts, consultants, and other professionals. Ensure that the entire team is working in the best interests of the practice owner when rendering the services within their areas of expertise. It’s also important to set realistic expectations at the inception of a project, with the goal of completing the project on time and on budget, if not ahead of schedule and under budget.
It’s important to match the style and design of a dental office to the demographic the practice wishes to attract. In order to do that you must first define who the ideal patient is. If a dental office is overbuilt, using high end materials and a style that evokes high style in a community of blue-collar workers, the members of the community could get the impression that they cannot afford to do business there. Some common mistakes seen in building a dental office include underestimating the need for pre-planning. Input from the practice owner is crucial to end up with the right kind of dental office for that practitioner. Budgets must be all inclusive, encompassing all the small items that can add up quickly. Bruce stated that one of the best ways to come up with a practical budget is to engage with industry professionals experienced in delivering the kind of project you envision for your ideal office.
In designing your dental office, future growth must be anticipated and planned for, in order not to outgrow the available space. An average of 12% growth is realized within the first 12 months after the relocation of an existing practice, according to Johnstone. Once given an environment in which to grow, he states, most dental practices do, even if additional staff or extended hours are not added. The dental office atmosphere has a direct effect on patient confidence, which leads to increased patient load resulting from referrals by existing patients and staff pride in the new dental office.
When considering the financial aspect of building an ideal dental office, practice owners should look at the benefits of owning over leasing a piece of property. If a practice is inhabiting a leasehold property, the landlord should offer the practice owner financial incentives to sign a long-term lease. If purchasing a piece of property, it’s important to look at location, community growth, and area economy.
The Thriving Dentist with Gary Takacs
Host of The Thriving Dentist podcast show, Gary Takacs is a well-known presence in dental practice consulting. As a dental practice coach, Gary offers his professional insight on achieving personal, professional, and financial satisfaction gained from his practical experience as co-owner of a dental practice on a one-on-one basis or through seminars, audio, and video programs. He is also a frequent speaker at industry events, symposiums, and seminars. Gary interviewed Bruce Johnstone of Apex Design Build about the details to consider when building the ideal dental office.
Apex Design Build
Apex is a well-respected design build firm based in Chicago which has earned a stellar reputation for providing state of the art healthcare facility design and construction over four generations. Apex delivers modern dental and other healthcare facility projects that reflect the unique style and personality of individual practice owners.
Apex Design Build can take your vision of the ideal healthcare facility and bring it to life. Let’s work together to get started on the exciting adventure of designing your dental office.